Crusader
"Shall mankind’s lot be to sit idle and let the darkness take him? No, I say thee! We must strike back against the shadows!" Advanced (ToS) It is perhaps the greatest deed a templar can perform to go to war in the name of the Gods. In ages past, especially during the crusades against Araby, it was unusual for a knight to not go on crusade with his order. But in more recent times crusades are far less common, especially on such a scale. Crusaders are those knights who are veterans of crusades, who have earned great glory for their order and faith through their deeds in foreign lands against the enemies of the cult. They are world-wise men, skilled at fighting in all manner of conditions and against all manner of enemies, and many knights who return from crusade find their deeds forever etched in the legends of their order. Not all crusaders hail from the nobility or from a knightly order, although it is certainly true that most do. Some are pious men who are mere soldiers, fighting alongside the armies of templars and knights, and their deeds are no less noble despite their lesser status. Main Profile Secondary Profile Skills: Academic Knowledge (History), Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Common Knowledge (any three), Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Ride, Secret Language (Battle Tongue), Speak Language (Arabyan, Breton, Estalian, or Tilean). Talents: Orientation or Linguistics, Seasoned Traveller, Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying), Stout-hearted, Strike to Injure, Strike to Stun Trappings: Heavy Armour (Best Craftsmanship Full Plate Armour), Maps (depicting the route of either a pilgrimage or crusade), Religious Symbol Career Entries Knight, Noble Lord, Sergeant, Veteran Career Exits Captain, Judicial Champion, Explorer, Initiate, Knight of the Inner Circle, Noble Lord, Veteran Crusader Patrons and the Economics of Faith Although crusades are usually declared by a religious order, many of the knights who join them are driven by worldly motives like revenge or the pursuit of glory. Crusaders from the Empire typically belong to Sigmarite or Ulrican orders such as the Knights Panther or Knights of the White Wolf. Crusaders from the southern lands of Estalia and Tilea are almost entirely from the Myrmidian Order of the Righteous Spear. Bretonnian crusaders fight on behalf of their liege lords and the Lady of the Lake, rather than belonging to organised knightly orders. The lands north of Kislev have become a popular destination for crusaders from across the Old World since the Storm of Chaos. Crusades are costly endeavours, often requiring significant investment from nobles and merchants. Religious orders lacking the resources to supply ships and baggage trains themselves must guarantee treasure or parcels of land to potential financiers. Wealthy benefactors who wish to have their interests properly represented provide soldiers led by knights from their own armies, or even accompany the crusade in person. The cult of Sigmar is the only religious order with sufficient wealth to launch a crusade without the backing of others, although the temples’ coffers would be depleted by such an endeavour, so the patronage of nobles is generally solicited. Echoes of Araby Every crusader knows of the crusades against Araby nearly 1,000 years ago which were launched in retaliation for Sultan Jaffar’s invasion of Estalia. Few realise the extent to which those crusades still influence the customs of knightly orders today. The Knights Panthers’ symbolic cat pelts are intended to commemorate their crusader forebears, but the order also practises ritualistic hand gestures before meals to bless their food and drink. In modern times, these gestures are accompanied by prayers to Taal and Rhya, but originally they were used in spells by the crusaders’ hedge sorcerers to appease desert spirits. Present day crusaders of the Knights Panther wear grilled visors on their helms as a matter of tradition, but during the Arabyan crusades this was merely a precaution against heat stroke. When the Arabyan port city of Copher was ransacked during the original crusades, both civilians and wounded soldiers were slain without quarter. The grandmasters of the Righteous Spear agreed at the time that the killings at Copher constituted murder, not war, and warned their knights against the temptations of the dread god Khaine. The Order of the Righteous Spear has a longstanding policy amongst its crusaders to always accept a human enemy’s surrender.